I've got some new music, as promised, to rock your weekend. Most of you probably know Brendan Benson as the other singer in The Raconteurs. But you may not know that he is an accomplished pop-rock songwriter and musician in his own right. And it makes sense when you look at a band like the Racs, where the songs mix bluesy, heavy guitar engine (Jack White) with very tight pop melodies and rhythms (Benson). The best examples of this fusion are "Intimate Secretary" from their first record, or "Many Shades of Black" from their second.
hey, that's my hat!
But enough about them, this is about Brendan's new solo record My Old, Familiar Friend. It's an 11 song tour-de-pop, full of melodious vocal lines, slickly blended verses and choruses, easy lyrics, and tightly written chord progressions. Think of it as a really catchy mixtape of The Who, Joe Jackson, and ELO covers. Brendan stands out on this record with "Garbage Day" (very 70's pop rock) "Gonowhere" (a bit of McCartney), and "Eyes On The Horizon" (Elvis Costello-esque).
And if you can, grab his previous LP, 2005's The Alternative To Love. The title track remains my personal favorite across all his various groups.
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